Flowers in Midgar
by Rolling Tomorrow
Summary: In the end, the foundation of Midgar wasn't concrete, steel, or any other metal stolen from the planet; it was deceit.


_Flowers in Midgar_

Once upon a time, smog from the congested city of Midgar choked the life out of any flower that tried to bloom in the bloodstained soil. The adverse conditions were too much for the fragile, ephemeral life of a blossom. The Shin-Ra Electric Power Company was heartlessly draining too much of the planet's energy, the very life force of the world. It almost impossible for any natural beauty to come to life in the great Mako City.

Midgar was regarded in two very conflicted viewpoints; many believed the truth and were certain it represented the very end of the planet's life. They placed all their faith in the resistance in hopes to topple the greed of Shin-Ra before they extinguished the life of the very planet in the same fashion they had ended the lives of the flowers. Others venerated the technological superiority Shin-Ra blessed them with. The dystopian city was going to be the future of everything if something wasn't done.

But the tools of man are always doomed to turn into civilized dust.

The tall buildings in the city hid so much celestial light from view. There were countless citizens who lived beneath the plate who had never even seen the sun. Existence in this metropolis was dull and even grim for countless people, but there was no denying that it was still a land of opportunity for political and economic gain. Even if the beauty of the natural world was lost, how ere people to ignore such extravagant lure?

They could not; the temptation was too great. People forsook so many precious things we take for granted, even their ability to look up and see the sun illuminating the sky, just so they could 'prosper' in the Mako City. The artificial world they called home was all they had, and too many of them closed their eyes to the sins of the company providing them with opportunity. They closed their eyes to the will of the planet that gave them life, rhapsodized in lies. They convinced themselves they didn't need the simple magic the planet provided them with.

In the end, the foundation of Midgar wasn't concrete, steel, or any other metal stolen from the planet; it was deceit.

There was only one small sanctuary beneath the massive city where flowers grew, even in the days where the world above was thriving. They were tended in a small church in the slums of the old city, blooming amongst the ruins of what had once been great. The small church nestled amongst the ruins wasn't the most impressive site throughout the countless years as they passed, but it was always blessed with the beauty of nature. Gentle hands took care of the flowers meticulously until they were strong enough a plentiful enough to grow and expand on their own.

One wouldn't expect to find a church in the slums, and the treasure inside was even more surprising. The bright colors contrasted the grime of the city, almost like a beacon of hope that there was still life even in Midgar. The fragrant scents were the only reprieve from the stench created by overpopulation and pollution. The church was quiet, unlike the bustling streets so high above.

The precious flowers and the cherished greenery wouldn't have the chance to truly flourish, reclaiming the land lost to corruption and bloodshed, until the great Mako City was reduced to ruins. Corruption ran it course and ended in the tragic end of countless lives. Time was never on the city's side; the atonement Shin-Ra paid for its sins was the very technology they worked so hard to create.

The years slipped into decades as the massive structures slowly decayed. Nature reclaimed the powerful company's headquarters, slowly bringing it back to the state it had been before the name Shin-Ra was known to anyone. The violence ended, once and for all. The magic of nature, the Lifestream, decided the day when not another drop of blood would be unjustly spilled in Midgar. It all returned to Gaia, just like the malevolence men who constructed the city from dust.

It all started in the only haven amongst the tall buildings, a flowerbed in the ruins of a church. The picturesque flowers were the only hope of salvation for nature's magic. The reservoir of pure water that fed the flowers allowed them to grow and expand from the church and beyond. Time passed, guiding the gentle vines and roots to bring the fallen city back to its origins.

For even the greatest dystopian metropolis created by the bloody hands of man is fated to return to return to nature.

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><p>Author's Note: This is really old, I wrote it way back in 2010. XD It was written for a contest with a prompt of "the magic of nature's beauty found in an unusual place" and it had to start with "once upon a time."<p> 


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